Tag Archives: Mark Kotsay

After letting Pat Murphy know he would not be getting the job, the search began for a new manager of the San Diego Padres. Sources are telling us who is being interviewed for the position, so let’s take a closer look.

There has been plenty of speculation already on who the Padres are going to hire for the manager’s job. Most of it is just that, speculation. There aren’t many details other than a few reports on people being granted permission to interview. Which is better than no news, I suppose.

Let’s take a look at the candidates, no matter how ridiculous their candidacy seems, shall we?

Thirteen years ago today, the Padres beat the Dodgers, 8-0, at Qualcomm Stadium. The victory improved San Diego’s record to 43-58 and pulled them to within 4 ½ games of the fourth-place Colorado Rockies. It was epic.

Also epic: Bobby Jones. The Padres employed two pitchers with that name. This is the right-hander from Fresno, not the left-hander from New Jersey (though they sometimes pitched in the same game).

Jones spent 10 years in the big leagues, his final two with the Padres. He went 15-27 with a 5.26 ERA in two seasons here. Opponents hit .303/.334/.511 against Jones, who led the National League in losses (19) and home runs allowed (37) in 2001.

What I’m trying to say is that he had trouble getting guys out, which is probably why he stopped pitching after his stint in San Diego. But he had a nice run as the precursor to Joe Blanton and even made the NL All-Star team in 1997. Hell, he one-hit the Giants in the 2000 NLDS.

Jones wasn’t very good by the time he came to the Padres. But on a warm Wednesday in July, he dominated a Dodgers team that would go on to win 92 games.

The Commissioner Speaks: Imagining a Redefined Strike Zone (Hardball Times) – Jon Roegele takes a closer look at balls and strikes. This is a long read, with many fascinating tidbits, including the fact that the strike zone is now larger and lower than it was 5 years ago. In a bizarre coincidence, strikeouts are up and scoring is down. Another finding that will disappoint those who would embrace our robot ump overlords is that plate umpires have improved their accuracy over that same period. There’s lots more in here; it’s well worth your time.

Jumpsteady (Wax Pack) – Brad Balukjian has started his road trip that will end with a book being written about the experience. The linked article focuses on San Marcos resident and recent Padres Hall of Fame inductee Garry Templeton. The Tempy experience continues here. Former Padres Gary Pettis and RandyReady also make appearances. (Click the names, this is the Internet.)

GM Preller expects better baseball ahead (Padres.com) – Bully for him. Failing that, he can try moving some guys, although maybe we’re not there yet. The difference between last year’s team and this year’s is that now the players are much more expensive. Good luck finding someone to take Kemp or the lousy Upton. This is why my vision of the future is bleak. And while it’s nice to hear that Ron Fowler and the Padres remain “committed to winning,” right now their level of commitment is less of a concern than their level of competence. Could the “spend money, hope something good happens” approach work? Sure, but that doesn’t make it the optimal strategy or even a smart idea.

Here it is! All of the Padres bobbleheads that I own, in one single post! 57 168 (!!!!) different Padres, Chihuahuas, Beavers, Stars, BayBears, Quakes, Storm, Wizards, TinCaps, Emeralds, managers, announcers, mascots, dreamboats, skaters and sleepy voiced ex-owners. I’ve written in depth about many of these already, so if you have any questions feel free to ask in the comments below and I’ll fill you in on them.

Some Additional Notes:

-The Tony Gwynn set of 5 was not a Padres affiliated giveaway and was reportedly a set that Alicia Gwynn teamed up with another company on. I can’t recall the year, or if they were given away somewhere or sold, but I’m about 99.9% sure that it was in 2001.

-I found out that the set that features Trevor Hoffman, Ryan Klesko, Mark Kotsay and Phil Nevin was indeed given away at a game on August 4th, 2002, but was for kids only. You could also go to Carl’s Jr. every Saturday for 5 consecutive weeks and purchase a combo meal to buy a different bobblehead for $4.99 though, which is what I did. My cholesterol levels have never been the same.

-The Jerry Coleman bobblehead was a San Diego National Bank item from 2001 and was given away to “special friends of the bank” only.

-I’ve never seen the 1980’s Twin Enterprises bobblehead before, but I scooped it up. It’s in the 1985-1990 uniform, however I have never seen any of these holding a baseball. Perhaps it was a custom one?

If you have any bobbleheads that aren’t listed here, that you’d like to contribute to my sickness the cause, then shoot me an e-mail.

Next up we have the Eckstein-Owens Memorial True Grit Award for the grittiest gritty player who shows gritty grit on the gritty Padres. Named in honor of the two of the grittiest players who ever dirtied up a Padres uniform, David Eckstein and Eric Owens, the True Grit Award is bestowed upon the player who best exemplified gritty play during the season.

What constitutes gritty play? Clutch defensive plays. Take no prisoners baserunning. Outstanding on-field awareness. These are all key. And if a player demonstrates all of these at the same time, that’s a lot of grit.

We used to call these types of players “scrappy.” Not quite sure when it was changed to gritty. Who really cares? It’s basically the same thing.

Some of you may be wondering, “The Padres’ season is over. What the Hell are you going to do now, Ghost? In-depth analysis of Mighty Wings sales? The history of the McNugget?”

To be honest, I wondered the same thing. Quite frankly, I’d love to take a break. But for some reason you people keep coming back. And I don’t want to disappoint any more than I already have.

We have some interesting ideas for the offseason that Padres Public will be rolling out over the course of the next month or so, but I figured I’d start with one of mine right away.

Say hello to the first of many polls to choose the first ever McRib Awards.

Over the course of the next few weeks, I’ll be leaving it up to you, my loyal readers, to select the winners in each category. Then I’ll have one post to announce them all at once. Just like the Academy Awards, but completely different, because the winners get nothing. Nothing at all. Unless you count bragging rights. And who would really brag about this?

Instead of categories like “Best Starter” or “Team MVP,” which every blog, sports website, network, guy/gal on the street, and family pet out there already does, I’m going to throw out some unusual categories. This first one definitely qualifies:

Always enjoy responsibly. Don’t read and drive.

On Saturday, Mark Kotsay announced to the media that he would be retiring from Major League Baseball at the end of this season. We here at Padres Public have spent a lot of time this year cracking wise on Twitter about Kotsay and his ability to provide veteran leadership and have a korner. He has, however, been a positive contributor on the field for the San Diego Padres. We’re going to take a look back at his career, which is the least one of us wiseasses can do.